Don Vierde knows Greencastle is a town without a theater, but that has never stopped him from enjoying film. Follow him to find out how you can too.

Oh that "sound" of music and more

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By Don Vierde

Don Vierde is a prolific aficionado of film. He has used his critical eye to analyze a plethora of film in a wide variety of genres and from various time periods. Don Vierde is a member of the American Film Institute.

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By Don Vierde

April 5, 2013
8:01 p.m.

It's about that time of year when you'll find The Sound of Music offered often. This was a play later made into a movie starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. The premise of the plot is a young nun, Maria (played by Andrews) is considering taking her final vows when she is sent on assignment to babysit 7 children for a naval captain (Plummer) in Pre-WWII Austria. I am just going to get it out of the way that for me, this movie is 5 stars. For someone who doesn't enjoy musicals, it may be less. I feel any great film will make an impact on the viewers. They will walk away from it remembering certain lessons or stories or morals. There are two main aspects of The Sound of Music that make an impact on me:

1. Music is Powerful! When Maria initially goes to begin her assignment, the Captain is very strict with his children and rules his home with an iron fist (or more fittingly an iron whistle) Through the power of music, Maria not only softens the hard heart of the Captain, but instills better structure in the children than existed under the disciplinarian environment that existed before. The point is, music can do seemingly magical things. A pet peeve of mine is when someone is listing their interests and they say, I really like music. I think you would be hard pressed to find a person who does not like music in any fashion. The fact is, everyone likes music because it can change how you feel and communicate to people in ways not otherwise possible. The power of music is masterfully exemplified in The Sound of Music.

2. Stand by your Principles! In The Sound of Music, the impending takeover of Austria by Nazi Germany is a constant overtone. A majority of the adult characters in the film have the opinion that German control is going to happen one way or the other, so they might as well make things as easy as possible for themselves and accept it. However, the Captain refuses to fall into line with such tyranny. Even though he experiences great personal loss of his entire estate and places his own family in great danger, the Captain does not back down from his principles: that what the Nazis were doing was wrong and he would not go along with it under any circumstances. I feel too often in life we rationalize bending and breaking our principles until no ethos remains to live by other than, "what is best for me, is what I should do." The Captain's staunch adherance to his principles is a refreshing reminder that there is a right and a wrong in this world and we should always do what's right, no matter how inconvenient it may be.